Husband’s poisoning appeal fails

Dave Wiliams, the man convicted for conspiring to murder his naggy wife, has been denied leave to appeal the judgment and sentence. File photo: Shan Pillay

KwaZulu-Natal - The Pietermaritzburg man convicted and jailed for seven years for conspiring to murder his wife was denied leave to appeal in the city’s magistrate’s court on Monday.

Dave Williams now intends to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for permission to appeal against the judgment and sentence, said his attorney Nasen Naicker.

Williams was arrested after being trapped by an undercover policeman when he bought fake poison to kill his wife Vino, who, he said, was “naggy, clingy and irritating”.

Throughout his trial, he maintained that at no stage – between September 26 and October 4 last year – had he intended to kill Vino, but that he had wanted to commit suicide by taking poisonous tablets because of his poor financial position.

Magistrate Mpume Linda, however, found otherwise.

On Monday, she said the court believed that Williams was serious at all times about having his wife killed and proceeded to make plans.

She said the conviction and sentence had not induced a sense of shock, and that it sent out a message that this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated. Linda added that her view was that no other court would arrive at a different decision.

Vino expressed relief after the judgment.

She said after her husband had been arrested, he had written to her asking for forgiveness and to give their marriage a second chance.

He had also told her how much he missed her and her cooking. - The Mercury